NASA/TM—2012-217280 ARL–TR–4757

U.S. ARMY

RESEARCH LABORATORY

Rotary-Wing Relevant Compressor Aero Research

and Technology Development Activities
at Glenn Research Center

Gerard E. Welch, Michael D. Hathaway, and Gary J. Skoch

U.S. Army Research Laboratory, Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio

Christopher A. Snyder
Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio

March 2012
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NASA/TM—2012-217280 ARL–TR–4757
U.S. ARMY

RESEARCH LABORATORY

Rotary-Wing Relevant Compressor Aero Research

and Technology Development Activities
at Glenn Research Center

Gerard E. Welch, Michael D. Hathaway, and Gary J. Skoch

U.S. Army Research Laboratory, Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio

Christopher A. Snyder
Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio

Prepared for the

65th Annual Forum and Technology Display (AHS Forum 65)
sponsored by the American Helicopter Society
Grapevine, Texas, May 27–29, 2009

National Aeronautics and

Space Administration

Glenn Research Center

Cleveland, Ohio 44135

March 2012
 Acknowledgments

This effort is sponsored by the Subsonic Rotary Wing project of the NASA Fundamental Aeronautics Program. Portions of this
work were conducted under the ARL Army Stall Control Engine Demonstrator program, funded through the Army Research Office.

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Space Administration.

This work was sponsored by the Fundamental Aeronautics Program

at the NASA Glenn Research Center.

Level of Review: This material has been technically reviewed by technical management.

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Available electronically at http://www.sti.nasa.gov

 Rotary-Wing Relevant Compressor Aero Research and Technology
Development Activities at Glenn Research Center
Gerard E. Welch, Michael D. Hathaway, and Gary J. Skoch
U. S. Army Research Laboratory
Glenn Research Center
Cleveland, Ohio 44135

Christopher A. Snyder
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Glenn Research Center
Cleveland, Ohio 44135

Abstract T3 compressor discharge temperature

T4 turbine entry temperature
Technical challenges of compressors for future rotorcraft δ* aerodynamic blockage
engines are driven by engine-level and component-level ε clearance (e.g., in mils)
requirements. Cycle analyses are used to highlight the engine- η efficiency
level challenges for 3000, 7500, and 12000 SHP-class engines, ψ pressure rise coefficient
which include retention of performance and stability margin at φ flow coefficient
low corrected flows, and matching compressor type, axial-flow
or centrifugal, to the low corrected flows and high temperatures
in the aft stages. At the component level: power-to-weight and Introduction
efficiency requirements impel designs with lower inherent An overview of rotorcraft-relevant compressor research and
aerodynamic stability margin; and, optimum engine overall technology development activities underway at Glenn
pressure ratios lead to small blade heights and the associated Research Center is provided herein. The research activities are
challenges of scale, particularly increased clearance-to-span sponsored by the NASA Subsonic Rotary Wing (SRW)
ratios. The technical challenges associated with the aerodynam- project and are intended to address key aerodynamic
ics of low corrected flows and stability management impel the challenges associated with the compressors of the type used in
compressor aero research and development efforts reviewed advanced turboshaft engines of the 3000 (DoD AATE
herein. These activities include development of simple models (Ref. 1)), 7500 (NASA LCTR (Refs. 2 and 3)), and 12000
for clearance sensitivities to improve cycle calculations, full- (DoD JHL, cf. Ref. 4) SHP-class. A particular objective of the
annulus, unsteady Navier-Stokes simulations used to elucidate described research is to support technology development of
stall, its inception, and the physics of stall control by discrete the 7500 SHP-class engines for the NASA LCTR mission.
tip-injection, development of an actuator-duct-based model for The principal challenge posed by the LCTR mission is the
rapid simulation of nonaxisymmetric flow fields (e.g., due inlet requirement to reduce the main rotor speed from 650 ft/s at
circumferential distortion), advanced centrifugal compressor ground take-off to 350 ft/s at Mach 0.5 cruise (Acree et al.
stage development and experimentation, and application of stall (Ref. 3)) Although the rotor speed is reduced by approximate-
control in a T700 engine. ly 50 percent, the specific power levels (SHP/lbm/s) at the
take-off and cruise points are essentially the same. This
Nomenclature requirement for wide variability in rotor speed represents a
significant departure from the nearly constant-speed operation
AATE Advanced Affordable Turbine Engine of conventional rotorcraft. The required variability impels
b impeller exit blade span research and technology efforts related to (i) variable-speed
c chord transmission and/or (ii) variable-speed power-turbine output.
h blade height (span) While the power-turbine shaft speed can vary by a factor of
g staggered gap two in the latter approach, preliminary cycle analyses of the
JHL Joint Heavy Lift LCTR mission indicate that the gas generator components
LCTR Large Civil Tilt-Rotor (compressor and HPT) operate at approximately constant
m , m c mass flow rate, corrected mass flow rate corrected conditions and no additional operability require-
OPR overall pressure ratio ments are imposed on the compression system (Snyder and
SHP shaft horsepower Thurman (Ref. 5)).
SFC specific fuel consumption The technical challenges for the compressors are related to
SP specific power aerodynamics of low corrected flows ( m c ∝ m T p ) in aft

NASA/TM—2012-217280 1
stages, strength-of-materials and cooling limitations at pressure ratios (OPRs) to increasingly higher levels. Example
elevated compressor discharge temperatures, and stability. curves for SFC and specific power (SP) as functions of OPR for
These challenges are discussed in the first part of the paper. the 3000, 7500, and 12000 SHP engine classes are shown in
This is followed by an overview of on-going modeling, Figure 1. These results were obtained using the Numerical
component testing, and engine testing activities intended to Propulsion System Simulation (NPSS) code (Jones (Ref. 6)), for
address these challenges. the fixed turbine entry temperatures indicated in Figure 1,
specified technology correlations for turbine cooling effective-
ness as a function of cooling flow (Gauntner (Ref. 7)), and
Compressor Technology Challenges compressor polytropic efficiency as a function of compressor
The technical challenges for the compressors are driven by exit-corrected flow (Figure 2). The influence of the higher
engine system and component level requirements. temperature cooling air and degradation of compressor
efficiency in the aft-stages at increased OPR, leads to the optima
Engine-Level Challenges in OPR, in terms of SFC minimization, as shown in Figure 1(a).

At the engine level, the high power-to-weight and fuel

efficiency requirements of rotorcraft engines push overall

350.0

300.0

Specific power, SHP/lbm/s 250.0

200.0

150.0

100.0
3000 SHP, T4 = 2700 F
7500 SHP, T4 = 3000 F
50.0
12000 SHP, T4 = 3000 F

0.0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Overall pressure ratio
(a) SFC versus OPR (b) SP versus OPR
Figure 1.—Engine cycle calculation results, showing (a) SFC and (b) specific power as a function of OPR for the 3000, 7500, and
12000 SHP-class engines.

0.94

ηp Notional aggregate 0.92

compressor technology curve Improved aero performance
Future
Polytropic efficiency

0.9
Axial compressor Fielded
0.88

Centrifugal
compressors 0.86

0.84

0.82
0 1 2 3 4 5
Exit corrected flow Exit-corrected flow, lbm/s
(a) Technology curve basis (b) Technology curves
Figure 2.—Notional compressor technology curves showing (a) design-point polytropic efficiency as function of exit-corrected flow
for centrifugal and axial-flow compressor stages, and representative aggregate performance curve (green/dashed) used in cycle
analyses herein; and, (b) projected improvements in notional aggregate compressor efficiency levels to be achieved by aerody-
namic improvements.

NASA/TM—2012-217280 2
 4 3.5

3.5 3000 SHP 3 3000 SHP

7500 SHP 7500 SHP
Exit-corrected flow, lbm/s

12000 SHP 12000 SHP

Exit blade height, inches

3
2.5
2.5
2
2
1.5
1.5

1
1

0.5 0.5

0 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Overall pressure ratio Overall pressure ratio

a. Exit-corrected flow vs. OPR b. Exit blade height vs. OPR

Figure 3.—Exit-corrected flow in example 3000, 7500, and 12000 SHP engines as a function of OPR.

1600 associated small blading (Figure 3(b)), the centrifugal

Current T3
(T3), °F

limit (notional) T3 limit with compressor overtakes the axial compressor in terms of
1400
temperature,

for centrifugal higher strength materials

compressors efficiency, as shown notionally in Figure 2(a), compactness,
temperature

1200 and weight. The cross-over point in terms of exit-corrected

flow (e.g., 1.5 lbm/s), while dependent weakly on aero
1000
technology levels and engine size, is the point at which the
discharge

aerodynamics of the axial stages is degrading rapidly—due to

discharge

800
the effects of relatively large clearance-to-span, blade-
600 tolerances, and relative boundary-layer (aero-blockage)
Compressor

fractions. An important technical challenge in the 3000 SHP

Compressor

400
3000 SHP engine size is related, in part, to retaining high efficiency in
7500 SHP
200 12000 SHP compact, highly loaded axial and centrifugal compressors with
low corrected flows. Overcoming this challenge impels
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
research related to management of loss associated with large
Overall pressure ratio impeller-tip/shroud clearance-to-exit-span ratios, relative
Figure 4.—Compressor discharge temperature (T3) in example fillets, and blade thickness (cf. scaling study of Skoch and
3000, 7500, and 12000 SHP engines as a function of OPR, Moore (Ref. 8)). Considering the stress levels sustained by aft
showing opening of OPR-space accessible by higher stage centrifugals, engine pressure ratio—or specifically the
temperature materials capabilities. associated compressor discharge temperatures, T3—may well
be limited by the strength of impeller materials required to
The high engine OPRs introduce technical challenges meet life (as suggested in Figure 4).
associated with the aerodynamics of low corrected flows and
blade heights (Figure 3(a) and (b)) and high compressor
discharge temperatures (T3, Figure 4). In engines of a fixed 7500 SHP-Class Engines
SHP level, these challenges only worsen as T4 (and hence SP) In the 7500 SHP-class engines, the physical weight flows
is increased, leading to engines of lower mass flow rate and (e.g., 25 lbm/s) and optimum OPR (e.g., 37:1) lead to
higher optimum OPR. The challenges associated with low compressor exit-corrected flows near unity (see Figure 3(a)).
corrected flows and high T3 are highlighted in the following This power class engine may prove particularly challenging to
sections, engine by engine. compressor aero. At this corrected flow, centrifugal stages
would be preferable to axial stages (Figure 2(a)); however, the
3000 SHP-Class Engines T3s associated with these OPRs might prove incompatible with
the high stress levels of centrifugal impellers, and axial stages
At the 3000 SHP (AATE) level with physical flow rates of might need be used, even at the relatively low aft-stage
11 to 13 lbm/s, aft stage exit-corrected flow rates ( m c ,3 ) can be corrected flows (< 1 lbm/s). The technical challenges in the aft
less than 0.75 lbm/s (see Figure 3(a)). At these flow sizes and axial stages are thus related to maintaining high efficiency

NASA/TM—2012-217280 3
with small blade heights (< 0.5 in.). This technical challenge is improvement would lead to 35 °F cooler compressor discharge
a subject of research in a companion NASA project (Subsonic temperature at the 37:1 OPR (Figure 5(b)). These benefits
Fixed Wing) related to the aerodynamics of low-corrected highlight the importance of addressing technical challenges
flows in aft axial stages of high OPR ultra-high bypass ratio associated with improving component efficiency by managing
engines. The blade heights of these engines are envisaged blade row losses (3-D aero designs), clearances, and leakages,
comparable to those shown for the 7500 SHP-class engine and insuring stage matching so that blade rows operate as per
(Figure 3(b)). As suggested by Figure 4, if/when impel- design-intent.
ler/backplate materials with increased strength at temperature Power-to-weight requirements force high aerodynamic
are employed, use of a centrifugal compressor to replace aft loading levels associated with compactness (low weight)
axial stages may be warranted in this engine class. requirements. Concurrently, the aero-loading levels must be
tempered by the component efficiency and stall margin
12000 SHP-Class Engines required to meet engine efficiency and operability. These
factors push designers to stage designs with lower inherent
The 12000 SHP-class engines (JHL) will have relatively aerodynamic stability margin—a design trade which may be
high physical mass flow rates (e.g., 45 lbm/s) at high OPRs acceptable in advanced engines if active stability management
(e.g., 42:1) leading to exit-corrected flows of about 1.5 lbm/s. methodologies are realizable (cf. Larosiliere et al. (Ref. 9)).
At these corrected flows and high temperatures, an all-axial The technical challenges then associated with highly efficient,
compressor would be expected. The technical challenges are high power density compressor components involve develop-
again related to the aerodynamics of low-corrected flow in ment of efficient and reliable stability management, or stall
axial aft-stages. control, technologies.
As the corrected flows decrease with increasing OPR
Component Level Challenges (Figure 3(a)) and the aft-stage blade heights are reduced
(Figure 3(b)): The aft axial stages are pushed to higher hub-to-
The impact of compressor polytropic efficiency on LCTR- tip ratios in general, the blade counts increase, and/or the aspect
class (7500 SHP) engine efficiency (fuel consumption), size ratios decrease; the minimum blade thicknesses and fillets at
(weight), and available turbine cooling temperatures (T3) is the small sizes and high temperatures may well be set by
shown in Figure 5. Considering an example OPR of 37:1 (see material/strength requirements or machining tolerances rather
Figure 1(a)), a two point increase in polytropic efficiency, than aero considerations; and, the impact of endwall and
from “fielded” to “future” technology levels (Figure 2(b) viz. clearance flows takes on relatively stronger importance. The
Figure 3(a)), leads to a 3 percent reduction in fuel consump- management of endwall aerodynamic blockage levels, in
tion (Figure 5(a)) and a 5 percent reduction in engine mass particular, becomes increasingly challenging as the relative
flow rate (Figure 5(a)). Additionally, the same technology clearances (ε/h) increase.

1 0.0

0.99 -5.0

0.98 -10.0
Ratio of future to fielded

T3,°F
F

-15.0
0.97
inT3,

-20.0
0.96
Reduction in
Reduction

-25.0
0.95
-30.0
SFC ratio
0.94
Mass flow rate ratio -35.0
0.93
-40.0
0.92 -45.0

0.91 -50.0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Overall pressure ratio Overall pressure ratio

a. SFC and mass flow rate ratios b. Reduction in compressor discharge temperature
Figure 5.—Impact of two-point increase in compressor polytropic efficiency (cf. Figure 2(b)) from fielded to future engine in terms
of (a) ratios of specific fuel consumption and mass flow rate; and (b) compressor discharge temperature, T3.

NASA/TM—2012-217280 4
Compressor Research Activities for a low-speed four-stage axial compressor that an increase in
clearance-to-chord from 1.6 to 3.4 percent led to a 1.5 percent
Specific computational and experimental research activities reduction in efficiency, and 11 percent reduction in flow
described below are intended to address the technical range, and a 9.7 percent reduction in peak pressure rise, while
challenges associated with the aerodynamics of aft stages with Freeman (Ref. 12) found a 1.4 percent decrease in efficiency
low corrected flows and compressor stability. With regards to for a one point change in clearance to chord in a high-speed
compatibility with low corrected flows, a rudimentary multistage compressor. Similarly, in centrifugal compressors,
clearance flow modeling effort is first described, followed by roughly 0.25 percent in efficiency is sacrificed for every 1
a description of centrifugal compressor research activities in percent clearance to exducer-span (ε/b, cf. Skoch and Moore
the NASA Small Engine Components Test Facility. With (Ref. 8)). In terms of engine cycle modeling, the clearance
regards to stability, three activities are then described: T700 sensitivities are of interest for both design-point performance
engine/stall-control testing and supporting unsteady Navier- estimates and for transients (i.e., case and rotor differential
Stokes computations; and, the development of a new actuator- cooling effects). In terms of design-point estimates, as OPR
duct based nonaxisymmetric throughflow model. increases the ratio of an acceptable running clearance (e.g.,
15 mils) to the aft-stage blade height (see Figure 3(b))
Modeling for Improved Engine Cycle Calculations increases strongly. For example, if the ratio of a clearance to
chord of an LCTR (7500 SHP) engine at 20:1 (and m c , ex ≈
The reduction in aerodynamic performance at low corrected 1.7 lbm/s) was ε/c ≈ 2 percent, then using Figure 3(b) the same
flows must be accounted for in the engine performance
aspect ratio blading at 40:1 ( m c , ex ≈ 1) would have
calculations (as was approximated herein through the
compressor technology curve, Figure 2(b)). The impact of ε/c ≈ 3 percent. In light of the sensitivities cited for the axial
rotor/impeller tip clearance (ε/h or ε/b), in particular, is critical compressors above, the loss in aft-stage efficiency attributable
given its impact on both compressor performance and to reduced relative clearances alone for this increase in OPR
stability. Typical clearance sensitivities for pressure ratio, would be expected to be 0.8 to 1 point (cf. Figure 2(b)).
efficiency, flow, flow range, and stability are documented in A simplified model to account for the impact of increased
the literature, and are shown qualitatively in Figure 6(a). As relative clearances is under development using documented
the clearance-to-chord (or span, ε/h or ε/b) increases, stage sensitivities of this kind. The compressor characteristic (ψ – φ
efficiency, stability margin, pressure ratio, and flow range and η – φ) at a given corrected speed are determined
generally decrease. Cumpsty (Ref. 10) has summarized key (see Robbins and Dugan (Ref. 13)) from known (or design-
references for clearance sensitivities for both centrifugal and intent) performance characteristics and clearance (ε/c).
axial compressors. For example, Wisler (Ref. 11) has reported Herein, the pressure rise characteristic is modeled as

1.7

η Tight clearances 1.6

100% speed
Clearance-to-chord
Open clearances
1.5 1%
stability
Pressure ratio

2%
boundaries 1.4 3%

PR 1.3
op lines
1.2

50% speed
1.1

1
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
m c ,3 Corrected flow function

a. Impact of clearance at constant speed b. Model results

Figure 6.—Impact of increased clearances on compressor performance, showing (a) expected impact on pressure rise,
efficiency, stall margin, flow, and flow range, and (b) modeled impact of clearance on performance curves intended
for use in cycle calculations.

NASA/TM—2012-217280 5
 2 Small Engine Components Test Facility (SECTF, see Brokopp
 φ 
ψ ψ max = 1 − R ⋅  − 1 , where ψmax is the pressure and Gronski (Ref. 16)) over the past 25 years. The SECTF
 φmin  (Figure 7(a)) is ideally suited for testing rotorcraft-relevant
coefficient at stall (maximum), φmin is the stalling flow single and multistage compressors. A 6000-hp variable
1 ∂ 2ψ φ2min frequency drive motor and gearbox is used to drive the
coefficient, and R = − ⋅ sets the curvature of the research article at speeds up to 60,000 rpm. The throttle valve
2 ∂φ2 ψ max
and exhaust sprayer cooler are rated for operation at pressure
characteristic. For a given clearance, the stalling pressure ratio
ratios up to 30:1. Inlet air pressure can be varied from 2 to 50
as a function of percent ε/c is determined from the correlation
psia and temperature from ambient down to –50 °F. Maximum
of Smith (Ref. 14), which documents a 4.6 percent peak
flow capacity, dependent on inlet conditions, is in the range 40
pressure loss for each 1 percent clearance-to-chord. The
to 65 lbm/s. The rig, as configured currently, can accommodate
aerodynamic blockage (δ*) at this stability boundary is compressors up to 20 in. diameter.
estimated using the correlation of Koch and Smith (Ref. 15) Skoch and Moore carried out a centrifugal compressor
and is a function of the clearance to stagger-gap ratio (ε/g). scaling study during the late ‘80s which documented
The percent of span corresponding to the aerodynamic efficiency sensitivities to variations in clearance (ε/b), fillet
blockage fraction (δ*/h) is assumed to do no work and the size, and Reynolds number (Ref. 8). Laser Doppler velocime-
stalling flow rate is back calculated using the known try (LDV) was subsequently used to characterize the impeller
compressor characteristic and the stalling pressure ratio from discharge flow and vane-island diffuser flow in a series of
the Smith correlation. experiments by Skoch et al. (Ref. 17) and Wernet et al.
The model is in its inception and is certain to undergo (Ref. 18) The laser anemometry efforts provided valuable flow
refinement during its implementation and validation. field data sets for code validation (see, for example,
Preliminary results in Figure 6(b) indicate the calculated Larosiliere et al. (Ref. 19)), and were followed by a series of
impact of clearance variations on the performance characteris- stall control experiments (discussed below). In addition to
tics at 50 and 100 percent corrected speeds. The clearance small (2.5 lbm/s) and large (10 lbm/s) centrifugal compressors,
strongly reduces the stability margin and maximum pressure
m c ,in = 10.5 lbm/s ( m c , ex ≈ 2.75 lbm/s), 2.5-stage with 5:1
rise capability of the compressor. The efficiency is reduced
concomitantly, according to the sensitivities described above design-point pressure ratio was tested in the SECTF facility as
(e.g., 1.4 percent decrease in η for each 1 percent increase in well (Adamczyk et al. (Ref. 20).
clearance-to-chord). The SECTF went into standby in 2003. Under the current
NASA Subsonic Rotary Wing project, the test cell has been
Experiments in the Small Engine Components restored to an operational state. This investment is to enable
in-house research of advanced centrifugal compressors with
Test Facility open geometry, to provide a facility for research formulated
Experimental research on both axial and centrifugal with industry and academia, and for DoD/industry collabora-
compressor aerodynamics has been conducted in the NASA tion. The SECTF is currently being used to re-baseline the 4:1

a. Small Engine Component Test Facility b. Cross-section of CC3 compressor stage

Figure 7.—(a) photo of SECTF and (b) CC3 cross-section showing shroud stall control injection scheme.

NASA/TM—2012-217280 6
CC3 compressor stage (Figure 7(b)) comprising the impeller, TABLE 1.—NRA SOLICITATION—APPLICATION
vane-island diffuser, and 90° turning duct (no deswirl vanes) COMPRESSOR DESIGN-POINT CHARACTERISTICS
(Ref. 17). The 10 lbm/s CC3 compressor is a scaled-up version Metric Value or Range
of a 3.6 lbm/s stage that facilitates detailed flow anemometry. Stage pressure ratio 4.5 < PR < 6
Following baseline performance measurements, the 50 mil Inlet corrected flow 2.5 ≤ m c ,in ≤ 3 lbm/s
variable clearance capability of SECTF will be exercised to re- Stage-exit corrected flow 0.7 ≤ m c ,ex ≤ 0.8 lbm/s
establish clearance sensitivities for performance and range. Work factor 0.60 ≤ ∆H 0 / U tip2 ≤ 0.75
Current entry plans also include acquisition of r – θ surveys Polytropic stage efficiency ≥ 0.88
downstream of the vane-island diffuser—a first in CC3—and
T3 capability 950 < T (°F) < 1000
radial surveys of high-response total-pressure in the vaneless
Max flow path diameter to impeller tip diameter rmax / rtip ≤ 1.45
space between the impeller and diffuser.
Design stability margin 25%

NASA Research Announcement Contract on Stall Control Activities

Advanced Centrifugal Compressors
The Active Stall Control Engine Demonstration (ASCED)
A 2007 NASA Research Announcement (NRA) solicitation project was initially funded by the U.S. Army Research
included requests for proposals to support advanced Laboratory (ARL) and was completed with augmentation
centrifugal compressor research and development with an aim funding from the Subsonic Rotary Wing Project of the NASA
to improve design methodologies and component performance Fundamental Aeronautics program. The project had both
levels for future rotorcraft applications. The objectives of the engine testing (experimental) and computational modeling
3-year activity were to include the following: aspects (next section). The objective of the project was to
demonstrate stall control technologies, which had been
• Identify and prioritize key knowledge gaps, and outline developed earlier in NASA axial and centrifugal compressor
experimental testing needed to advance the state-of-the- component experiments, in an engine. The intent was to
art of rotorcraft-relevant (Table 1) centrifugal compres- understand the impact of integration and operation in the
sor technology; engine environment on achieved flow range extension. In the
• Determine research measurements required for tool following sections, the key findings from the earlier
validation and for needed insight into salient flow phys- components experiments are first provided, followed by
ics; overviews of on-going experimental and computational stall
• Design, fabricate, install and collaboratively test a control activities.
advanced, rotorcraft-relevant, centrifugal compressor
research test article in the SECTF to obtain detailed aero- Earlier NASA Component Experiments
dynamic and aeromechanical measurements; and,
• Acquire high-quality research measurements needed to Suder et al. (Ref. 21) demonstrated flow range and stability
clarify flow physics phenomena and to establish detailed improvements in transonic, single-stage, axial-flow compres-
data sets for development and validation of new methods. sors and fans using steady-state injection through discrete
injectors upstream of the compressor rotor. The discrete
A 3-year NRA contract was awarded to United Technologies injectors were distributed circumferentially about the
Research Center (UTRC) in late 2008. A research centrifugal compressor case and were operated in choke. The emitted jets
compressor stage—impeller, diffuser, turning duct, and deswirl effectively unload the rotor tip regions and in this way reduce
vanes—which has key attributes (cf. Table 1) appropriate to the aerodynamic blockage levels at the case that lead to stall.
state-of-the-art rotorcraft engines, is to be designed, built, and Suder et al. (2001) (Ref. 21) determined that the arrangement
tested in the SECTF as a follow on to current CC3 experimenta- of the injectors in terms of their relative circumferential
tion. Table 1 reflects a highly aggressive compressor design in position was less important to flow range extension than were
terms of the combined efficiency, work factor, stall margin, and the number of injectors and the axial velocity of each jet. A
compactness (weight) requirements. Like CC3 (Ref. 17), the Coanda injector, suitable for integration between blade rows
new test article will be scaled-up to the 10 lbm/s flow size so as was demonstrated as well and later assessed in a high-
to accommodate detailed flow field measurements. The scaling performance multistage compressor (Strazisar et al. (Ref. 22).
will maintain tolerances, relative fillet sizes, and blade thickness Skoch extended the steady injection work just described to
to insure aerodynamic similitude with a 2.5 to 3 lbm/s rotorcraft- centrifugal compressors (Refs. 23 and 24) and demonstrated
relevant application compressor. The centrifugal stage is stability margin enhancement (+1.7 percent) using injectors
scheduled for delivery and installation during FY10 and check- that directed air-jets along the shroud surface in the vaneless
out testing and baselining at the end of FY11; thereafter, the test region between the impeller and vaned diffuser (Figure 7(b)).
article is intended to be used by the government, industry, and Similar hub-side injection in the vaneless region was found to
academia to acquire key consensus data sets. be less effective. In addition to steady shroud-side air

NASA/TM—2012-217280 7
injection, Skoch found that tubes protruding into the vaneless URANS Simulations of Stall Inception and Control
region through the shroud surface improved stability margin
by 4.4 percent. Both the injectors and stall-control-tubes have In addition to the T700 engine testing, the ASCED program
an associated pressure ratio penalty of approximately included a compressor simulation element. Unsteady Reynolds-
1 percent in the centrifugal compressor, depending upon the averaged Navier-Stokes (URANS) equation simulations have
injection flow rate or control-tube immersion. been used to elucidate the causal mechanisms and associated
flow physics leading to stall—that is, stall inception—and the
rotor-passage-level impact of the discrete casing endwall
T700 Engine Experiments injection used for stall control. The simulations complement
The stall control technologies described above were component level (see Weigl et al. (Ref. 25)) and engine level
subsequently applied in a T700 engine tests. The T700 (above) experiments aimed at understanding stall inception and
turboshaft engine was selected for the engine demonstration of were intended to provide guidance in the development and
stall control due to its important role in powering the Army testing of tip injection stall control technology. In this section, a
helicopter fleet. The compressor of the T700 engine has five brief review of the simulation activities is provided, including
and a half axial stages, the first three of which have variable their application to support T700 engine experiments.
inlet-guide-vanes/stators, followed by a single-stage
centrifugal. Experiments were carried out in the NASA Engine
Components Research Laboratory (ECRL, Figure 8), and
involved stall control in both the axial and centrifugal stages.
The axial and centrifugal compressors could be throttled
independently by preferential back-pressuring using externally
controllable inflow of high-pressure air.
Coanda injectors of the type demonstrated by Strazisar et al.
(Ref. 22) were installed ahead of Rotors 1, 2 and 5 of the axial
compressor. The injection air was supplied from either an
external high pressure source with temperature control or by
recirculation from within the engine. Injectors at the Rotor 1
and 2 locations were supplied by air extracted downstream of
the last axial stage, while Rotor 5 injectors were supplied from
air extracted downstream of the centrifugal compressor stage.
In addition to the air injectors in the axial compressor,
retractable, solid, stall control tubes were installed at multiple Figure 8.—Photograph of the NASA Engine Component
locations around the circumference in the vaneless space Research Laboratory with T700 engine and stall control
ahead of the centrifugal compressor diffuser. injection air lines installed.
Example results for tip injection in the axial compressor are
1.10
shown in Figure 9 where range extension is indicated for
Normalized axial compressor pressure ratio

Three Rotor-1 injectors active

operation at 80 percent speed. In the upper chart, three of the
1.00
six available injectors ahead of Rotor 1 were active as the
axial compressor was throttled. Tip injection provided a 0.90
3.5%

3.5 percent increase in flow range, while maintaining stall

pressure ratio. 0.80
0.65 0.70 0.75 0.80 0.85 0.90 0.95 1.00 1.05
The ECRL test facility provides robust data collection
capability. In addition to versatile injector and engine
controls, the ARL/NASA T700 engine is heavily instru- 1.10
No injectors active (baseline)
mented. Total pressures and temperatures are measured
1.00
upstream and downstream of both the axial and centrifugal
compressors. The leading and trailing edge of each axial
0.90
blade row, rotors and stators are instrumented with steady-
state casing static-pressures. High-response pressure 0.80
measurements are collected upstream of each axial rotor as 0.65 0.70 0.75 0.80 0.85 0.90 0.95 1.00 1.05

well. In the near future, a light probe system will be added to Normalized inlet corrected flow (lbm/s)
measure blade vibration during stall and surge. The diffuser Figure 9.—Demonstrated stall control in five-stage axial
is similarly heavily instrumented with steady-state and high- compressor in T700 engine at (80 percent) operating speed,
response pressure instrumentation. showing flow range extension achieved by injection ahead of
Rotor 1.

NASA/TM—2012-217280 8
 Initially steady axisymmetric simulations (Hathaway and more highly loaded tip region. When tip injection is of
Strazisar (Ref. 26)) with and without casing tip injection sufficient magnitude to stabilize the compressor, the
modeled, indicated that stall was initiated when the rotor tip disturbance cells are successively eliminated by the injectors
section exceeded a critical incidence (or max. diffusion factor), (Figure 10(b)). Some disturbance cells were eliminated after
and that injection velocity and number of injectors (specifically passing through only one injector, while others must pass
circumferential coverage) were key parameters for effective through multiple injectors before being eliminated.
range extension (and cf. Suder et al. (Ref. 21)). Such axisymme- While stall control by tip injection has been demonstrated to
tric simulations did not admit the non-engine order, nonaxi- extend operation beyond the baseline (noninjection) stability
symmetric spatio-temporal flow field variations associated with boundary, the achieved stall range extension is limited by the
stall inception and stall; indeed, modeling stall and its inception magnitude and circumferential extent of injection and the
requires time- and CPU-intensive 3D, unsteady full-annulus ability of the lower spans to accommodate the increase stall
simulations. Full-annulus simulations were thus conducted for range capability. As described, the compressor with tip
both axial-flow and centrifugal compressors with a principal injection is throttled ever deeper beyond the noninjection stall
objective to further understand the causal fluid mechanisms of point, the lower spans subsequently exceed their loading
rotating stall (Hathaway et al. (Ref. 27) and Chen et al. capability (high incidence and diffusion factor) resulting in
(Ref. 28)). Subsequent simulations (Chen et al. (Ref. 29)) of the local reverse flow pockets that centrifuge out to the rotor tip
axial compressor as it was throttled to stall demonstrated the coalescing into stall cells, which eventually grow and spill
ability to simulate the initiation of flow instabilities and their flow ahead of the rotor leading edge, eventually leading to
subsequent growth into a fully developed rotating stall, without stall (see Figure 11).
introduction of an embryonic disturbance. Both steady axisymmetric and unsteady full-annulus
The beneficial impact of steady tip injection has been simulations of the five and a half stage axial compressor of the
demonstrated in recent simulations in which modeling of the T700 engine were conducted in support of the ASCED project
discrete tip injection stall control technology has been (Hathaway et al. (Ref. 27)). Efforts to simulate the centrifugal
included (Chen et al. (Ref. 30)). The analyses have indicated compressor stage were also initiated with an eye toward
that, without stall control, the initial regions of low or reversed simulating the complete T700 axicentrifugal compression
axial velocity (disturbance cells) first develop in the mid-span system, both with and without stall control technology. These
region of the rotor suction surfaces (Figure 10(a)), most likely computationally intensive simulations involved thousands of
due to the increased incidence and diffusion factor values for processors and CPU-months worth of computations to
this region as it is throttled beyond the stable operating point. determine the stall boundaries. The investment proved
These disturbance cells migrate toward the tip region while impractical for generic engine simulation in which bleed
moving downstream. They increase in size as they move to the flows, secondary flows, and variable geometry schedules

a. Radial migration of the disturbance at 0.4 rotor b. Disturbance reduction via discrete tip injectors at
pitch steps per frame in the rotor in stabilized 0.8 rotor pitch time increments per frame in
operation beyond baseline stability boundary. stabilized operation beyond baseline stability
boundary.
Figure 10.—Pictures of computed instantaneous size and location of local regions of reversed flow (disturbances) in a tip-injection
stabilized rotor operating beyond the baseline stability boundary, showing (a) radial transport of disturbances from mid-span to tip
region and (b) clean-up of disturbances in tip region by injected flow (Chen et al. (Ref. 30)).

NASA/TM—2012-217280 9
strongly impact operability. While the URANS simulations viscous dissipation and dilatation flow, produced by power
continue to serve a role in elucidating the flow physics of stall (dissipation) due to blade forces, and produced or destroyed
and its inception, more rapid and less CPU intensive by a term which scatters energy to/from the deviation and
computations are required for rapid simulation of full-annulus, filtered flow fields. The Harmonic Balance technique (Thomas
unsteady compressor flow fields. et al. (Ref. 32)) is used to resolve the circumferential
derivative of the θ-flux term as in the earlier compressor
Unsteady Actuator-Duct Solver for model for generalized inlet distortions by Welch (Ref. 33),
Nonaxisymmetric Flows resulting in an additional source term that couples 2N+1
“throughflow” solutions at equally spaced θ-locations, where
To this end, a more recent effort involves development of a N is the maximum wave number (harmonic order) of the
3-D, unsteady, nonaxisymmetric actuator-duct model for rapid solution.
simulation of multistage transonic fans/compressors with
nonaxisymmetric flow fields of low azimuthal wave number.
The model is intended for the simulation of the steady and
dynamic response of multistage and multi-spool compression
systems subjected to generalized inlet circumferential
distortions and other nonaxisymmetric effects, including
discrete endwall injection.
The Navier-Stokes equations are low-pass filtered
(Figure 12(a)) in the circumferential direction, resulting in direction of rotation
governing equations which admit only long wavelength T.E
circumferential nonuniformities (e.g., wave numbers less than .
spillage
blade count) and which cannot resolve the short wavelength
nonuniformities at the blade-passage level (cf. Xu et al.
L.E.
(Ref. 31)). The filtered equations are similar in form to the
Navier-Stokes equations, with the addition of body force terms
for the blade forces and an additional transport equation for
the kinetic energy associated with the shorter (filtered)
wavelength distortions. The kinetic energy of the short Figure 11.—Computed streaklines of clearance flow during
wavelength distortions is convected by the mean flow, near-stall operation, showing spillage of clearance flow past
transported by accelerations due to flow work, produced by rotor leading edge (Chen et al. (Ref. 30)).

rΩ
upper
∆θ f θ
limit
θ+
2

Filter
∆θ f
window
at θ
∆θ f
θ−
2 lower
limit

a. Schematic of low-pass filter b. Computed static pressure contours

Figure 12.—(a) Schematic showing low-pass filtering at local circumferential position; and (b) computed
contours of static pressure for NASA Rotor 35 at 100 percent speed, steady-state operation (axisymmetric
case).

NASA/TM—2012-217280 10
 The blade forces must be supplied to the computation, and underway to develop a state-of-the-art centrifugal compressor
are currently set equal to the blade forces that would exist if stage with advanced aerodynamics which is to be tested in the
the flow were axisymmetric at the local (θ) conditions of the NASA Small Engine Component Test Facility. The intent is
nonaxisymmetric flow. Chima (Ref. 34), Hale et al. (Ref. 35), that this new state-of-the-art rotorcraft-relevant compressor
and Longley (Ref. 36) use similar modeling approaches, with stage will serve as an experimental test vehicle for attainment
principal differences being the blade force specification. In of industry/academia/government consensus data sets needed
Chima’s case, the blade forces are calculated in separate for code validation and to fill gaps in the knowledge base.
steady-state 3-D Navier-Stokes calculations, whereas in Hale’s
case, forces are obtained from axisymmetric throughflow
modeling using a streamline curvature method. The present References
effort is intended for modeling multistage machines, which 1. Advanced Affordable Turbine Engine program, Solicita-
like the T700 might have order 10 blade rows; therefore, tion number W911W60720002, Aviation Applied Tech-
rather than computing the blade forces directly, the body nology Directorate, Dec. 2006.
forces are obtained approximately (cf. Longley (Ref. 36)) at 2. Johnson, W., Yamauchi, G.K., and Watts, M.E., “NASA
the blade row level by assuming (i) a specified turning Heavy Lift Rotorcraft Systems Investigation,”
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departure angle based on the blade geometry and the 3. Acree, C.W., Hyeonsoo, Y., and Sinsay, J.D., “Perfor-
computed short wavelength distortion intensity (aero- mance Optimization of the NASA Large Civil Tiltrotor,”
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The nonaxisymmetric actuator-duct modeling effort 24, 2008.
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and stator computations is indicated as well. Upon completion, vine, Texas, May 27–29, 2009.
the model is intended to enable efficient simulation of the 6. Jones, S.M., “An Introduction to Thermodynamic Per-
dynamics of compressors with nonaxisymmetric flow field. formance Analysis of Aircraft Gas Turbine Engine Cycles
The planned next steps include assessment and validation of Using the Numerical Propulsion System Simulation
the model using known axisymmetric performance data (e.g., Code,” NASA/TM—2007-214690, 2007.
NASA stage 35 and CC3 centrifugal compressor) followed by 7. Gauntner, J.W., “Algorithm for Calculating Turbine
simulation of steady-state and dynamic T700 engine Cooling Flow and the Resulting Decrease in Turbine
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8. Skoch, G.J., Moore, R.D., “Performance of Two 10-lb/sec
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Shroud Thicknesses Operating Over a Range of Reynolds
An overview of on-going compressor research at NASA Numbers,” AIAA 87–1745, July 1987.
GRC which is intended to address technical challenges for 9. Larosiliere, L.M., Wood, J.R., and Hathaway M.D.,
future rotorcraft engines was provided. With particular “Aerodynamic Design Study of Advanced Multistage
attention given to the variable rotor requirements of LCTR Axial Compressor,” NASA/TP—2002-211568, Dec.
future applications, the technical challenges for the compres- 2002.
sor are associated with low corrected flows in the aft stages, 10. Cumpsty, N.A., Compressor Aerodynamics, Krieger, FL,
high compressor discharge temperatures, and compressor USA, 2004.
stability management. The on-going research described 11. Wisler, D.C., “Loss Reduction in Axial-Flow Compres-
includes modeling and experimental efforts that address sors through Low-Speed Model Testing,” J. of Eng. Gas
aerodynamic challenges associated with low corrected flow aft Turbines and Power,” Vol. 107, 1985, pp. 354–363.
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are intended to enhance future predictive and assessment sor Stability and Engine Performance,” von Karman
capability for multistage compressors, at both the cycle deck Institue for Fluid Dynamics, Lecture series 1985–05,
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Engine Components Research Laboratory is demonstrating the 13. Robbins, W.H. and Dugan, Jr., J.F., “Prediction of Off-
applicability of stall control approaches in the engine, and Design Performance of Multistage Compressors,” NASA
related URANS simulations are elucidating the flow physics SP–36, Chapter 10, 1965, pp. 297–310.
of stall and its inception. Finally, the 3-year NRA contract is

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14. Smith, L.H., Jr., “The Effect of Tip Clearance on the Peak Rotor,” Proc. 21st Army Science Conference, Norfolk,
Pressure rise of Axial Flow Fans and Compressors,” Virginia, June 15–17, 1998.
ASME Symposium on Stall, 1958, pp. 149–152. 27. Hathaway, M.D., Chen, J., Webster, R., G.P. Herrick,
15. Koch, C.C. and Smith, L.H., Jr., “Loss Sources and “Unsteady Simulation of the Stall Inception Process in the
Magnitudes in Axial-Flow Compressors,” J. of Eng. for Compression System of a US Army Helicopter Gas
Power, Vol. 98, 1976, pp. 411–424. Turbine Engine – Final Year Progress,” DoD High Per-
16. Brokopp, R.A. and Gronski, R.S., “Small Engine Compo- formance Computing Modernization Office sponsored
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3980, July, 1992; also NASA TM–105685, 1992. 30, 2005.
17. Skoch, G.J., Prahst, P.S., Wernet, M.P., Wood, J.R., and 28. Chen, J.-P., Chen, J.P., Webster, R.S., Hathaway, M.D.,
Strazisar, A.J., “Laser Anemometer Measurements of the Herrick, G.P., and Skoch, G.J., “Numerical Simulation of
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18. Wernet, M.P., Bright, M.M., and Skoch, G.J., “An Inves- 29. Chen, J.-P., Hathaway, M.D., Herrick, G.P., “Prestall
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Test Analysis of a High-Speed Two-Stage Axial Flow Length Scale Unsteady Modelling in Turbomachines”,
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Bright, M.M., “Compressor Stability Enhancement Using 32. Thomas, J.P., Dowell, E.H., and Hall, K.C., “A Harmonic
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NASA/TM—2012-217280 12
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13. SUPPLEMENTARY NOTES

14. ABSTRACT
Technical challenges of compressors for future rotorcraft engines are driven by engine-level and component-level requirements. Cycle
analyses are used to highlight the engine-level challenges for 3000, 7500, and 12000 SHP-class engines, which include retention of
performance and stability margin at low corrected flows, and matching compressor type, axial-flow or centrifugal, to the low corrected
flows and high temperatures in the aft stages. At the component level: power-to-weight and efficiency requirements impel designs with
lower inherent aerodynamic stability margin; and, optimum engine overall pressure ratios lead to small blade heights and the associated
challenges of scale, particularly increased clearance-to-span ratios. The technical challenges associated with the aerodynamics of low
corrected flows and stability management impel the compressor aero research and development efforts reviewed herein. These activities
include development of simple models for clearance sensitivities to improve cycle calculations, full-annulus, unsteady Navier-Stokes
simulations used to elucidate stall, its inception, and the physics of stall control by discrete tip-injection, development of an actuator-duct-
based model for rapid simulation of nonaxisymmetric flow fields (e.g., due inlet circumferential distortion), advanced centrifugal
compressor stage development and experimentation, and application of stall control in a T700 engine.
15. SUBJECT TERMS
Gas turbine engine; Turboshaft engine; Engine performance; Compressor aerodynamics; CFD

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